Sleep Paralysis: Because a large percentage of alien abductions involve a sleeping victim, a sleep disorder may be to blame. Sleep paralysis is a "nonpathological" sleeping disorder and they begin here. ASP occurs when an individual is aware of the paralysis they are experiencing during REM, as is normal with sleep paralysis. When ASP occurs, an individual may have a feeling of a spiritual encounter. According to the authors, this might happen because the general population has no knowledge of ASP. ASP in accompanied by hallucinations and feelings of dread. People report seeing demons and strange figures as well as bright lights. These phenomenons may be culturally driven. While some cultures may blame the visions on the devil, we choose aliens. Activation of the amygdala (fancy brain part name) causes one to feel the presence of an "intruder." An "incubus" stage follows, where the victim feels like he or she is being crushed. Finally, vestibular activation causes one to feel like they are flying or floating. All of this may add up to a bad case of alien abduction.

False Memories: In fewer words, the authors attempt to consider false memories as a blame for these strange experiences. Could outside influences be convincing ASP victims that they were actually alien abductees? Hypnosis, or guided imagery preformed by abductee specializing therapists may be to blame, according to the authors. They go on to explain some false memory findings such as the DRM list spectacular. They also explain that neuropsychologists have found the brain reacts to a false memory just as it reacts to a real memory. The event seems real to the person recalling the event. The authors also point out that people who claim to be abductees are more susceptible to false memories, as they perform worse on DRM tasks.

Psychopathology: It seems that we are no more prone to psychopathology if we think aliens have abducted us. However, we might be more prone to "unusual feelings, thoughts and attitudes; to be suspicious or distrustful; and to be creative, imaginative or possibly have schizoid tendencies." There are also higher reports of childhood trauma documented for alien abductees. In addition, during one particular study, 57% had reported trying to commit suicide. Dissociative disorders are higher with abductees as well.

Abnormal Activity in the Temporal Lobes: Abnormal activity in the temporal lobs can cause hallucinations. The authors suggest this because epilepsy is related to temporal lobe activity. When a person is about to have a seizure, they may experience hallucinations of dark figures, missing time chunks, and even strange sensations around the genitals (could be interpreted as an examination by an alien). By messing around with the lobes, some have been able to create experiences for patients that have many of the same characteristics of alien abductions. This is done by magnetic exposure. Some suggest that the magnetic field of the earth is strong enough to create the large number of alien encounters people report experiencing.

Conclusion: Abductions are most certainly not real. Sleep paralysis may be causing the feeling of abduction. Most likely, the experiences are false memories. Abductees are not psychopaths, but they do suffer from out of the ordinary disorders. Finally, more evidence is needed to address the magnetic issue.